George's New Lease
by ienjoybooks
Summary: George Weasley felt like his life was finally coming together after the tragedy of losing Fred and the subsequent depression that followed. He's got a wife and she is expecting his first child. When his wife leaves him after the baby is born with a birth defect, how will George cope with the new curve-ball life has handed him? Rated for Possible Language.
1. Chapter 1

George walked up to the bed where his small, newborn daughter lay. She looked more fragile than he could have ever imagined a baby ever could. She had tubes in her nose, mouth and arms. The tubes in her arms were delivering several different potions into her tiny little body. The tube in her nose was for getting food to her stomach, and the tube in her mouth was helping her breathe. The most shocking thing about her though was the gaping hole at the small of her back, which was clearly visible.

"What did you name her?" Ron asked. George had nearly forgotten he wasn't alone and didn't look away from his small daughter as he replied. "Sarafina. Her name is Sarafina." George smiled as he looked down upon his beautiful little girl. "What was it the healer called it, again?" asked Ron, looking at the little girl with profound sadness. "He called it Spina Bifida," George took care to speak the name of the strange disease slowly in order to say it correctly. "The healer in charge of her care said that he was not trained to care for her. He said that no healer was and that he needed time to contact a Muggle doctor affiliated with St. Mungo's because this is primarily a Muggle condition and only occurs in children from magical families when the mother is Muggleborn or Muggle."

The tiny baby began to cry and George began to stroke her thick, flaming red hair. She continued to cry though, and a healer nurse came over to see what was the matter. "The breathing tube can be extremely uncomfortable for her," the nurse says to George as she begins to look through the vials of potions on the cart next to the baby's bed. "We need to keep her sedated, until her lungs have become strong enough for her to breath on her own." The nurse then continues to administer a cocktail of potions speaking gently and soothingly to the baby until the baby has fallen into a deep sleep. George holds his daughters little hand again as the nurse is out of the way.

"Will she be ok after the surgery though?" Ron asks George, once again breaking the silence. "Like, will she be able to live and function properly, or will she… you know… have problems?"

At this question George looks up at Ron, and takes in a deep breath before answering. "Well, according to the healers, the defect means that her spinal cord didn't fully form…" George pauses for a minute before he continues, his eyes filling with tears as he speaks again. "The healer told me that because of her malformed spine, there is almost no possibility that she will ever be able to walk or sit up on her own." George looked down as the tears threatened more than ever to spill over.

Ron looks astounded and puts an arm around George comfortingly, "C-can't they do something? Will the surgery not repair it, not make it possible for her to walk? Surely there is a spell…" George shook his head sadly. "The surgery is to repair the open wound and to fuse the spine but the damage to her legs has already been done and there is nothing anybody can do." George then broke down in tears and Ron pulled him into a tight hug.

"What will I do Ron?" cried George. "Whitney told me that she just cannot handle a disabled daughter and that she will not keep her. I cannot give away my precious daughter though. What will I do? My wife has left the baby and me. It's only been two years since I lost Fred and I just don't understand how I can possibly manage any more heartbreak." Ron just holds his brother, unable to find the words what to say, he only says. "Well at least she's a Weasley, we are all here to help you love and care for her." George feels a little better now knowing that this is the absolute truth.

Later that day Sarafina's healer walked into the waiting room where George sat with his Mother and older brother Percy. The healer was accompanied by what he could only assume was the Muggle doctor. They both stopped in front of George. "She has done remarkably well during the surgery," says the Muggle doctor. "Her open wound has been closed and her spinal fusion has been complete. The only thing we had to do extra was add a shunt in her head to drain spinal fluid from her head. The spinal fluid buildup in her head is called Hydrocephalus and is seen often in children with Spina Bifida. It may cause extra issues but as long as you continue with her muggle medications and her potions, as well as bringing her to both of us for regular check ups, she will be fine." George makes a sigh of relief as Molly hugs him tightly and Percy pats him on the back firmly. "You may see her now, but…" the doctor hesitated as he turned to Molly and Percy. "Unfortunately, we can only permit Sarafina's father in for the time being, because she is only in recovery her risk of infection is rather high." They both nod, understanding and Molly gives George a reassuring smile as he stands and follows the doctor to see his little girl.

His mouth and nose are covered with a mask and he is not yet allowed to hold his little girl but he is able to stroke her beautiful red hair and hold her little hand. As he looked down at his little girl he can see that she is still breathing with a tube down her throat, and eating with a tube in her nose but she is the most beautiful baby he has ever seen, and for the first time since the moment he watched his twin brother and best friend die, he felt truly happy.

AN: I'm sorry if things are not completely accurate as far as her condition goes, if anybody would like to be my consultant for all matters Spina Bifida, please let me know, I'd love to work with you.


	2. Chapter 2

George woke up early this morning, as he did every morning. He yawned and wiped the remaining sleep out of his eyes as he sat up in his hotel bed. He felt exhausted but he couldn't go back to sleep. He looked over at the clock and his heart immediately sunk, it was already 8:00 a.m. and by this time every morning he was usually already sitting with Sarafina for the day. He tried to be there every moment he could with her, after all he was the most important person in her life, and she was now the most important person in his. His heart ached every night at 10:00 p.m. when he had to leave his little girl in the hands of Healers and couldn't stay with her all night, but he knew it was for the best. She needed to stay at the hospital until she could thrive without the help of machines; she was still relying on a machine to breathe and a tube to eat and George didn't feel qualified to care for her by himself when she still needed so much specialized care.

George dressed quickly and grabbed an apple for breakfast; he rushed out the door at about 8:45 a.m. and walked quickly down the hallway to where he knew his little girl was waiting for him to come keep her company. When he got to the NICU he signed in, repeating the ritual he has done every morning for the past three weeks. The nurse at the desk checked his I.D. bracelet and his temperature, and then he was led to a sink where he already knew how to scrub in, cleaning his hands thoroughly. After his hands finished drying he walked back to the little corner where his daughter lay and he immediately smiled as he approached her bed. Somebody had already beaten him to her bedside this morning and was talking to her sweetly, holding her little hand.

"'Morning Mum, you beat me here this morning, it seems," said George as he gave his mother a hug. "Yes, I knew today was a big day for my beautiful little granddaughter! I figured you had just overslept but I let you sleep because I know you are tired," said Molly as she moved to the other side of George, letting him set in the chair closest to Sarafina's bed. "Thanks mum… but I feel awful for oversleeping, I was afraid that she was alone all morning," said George as he stroked her little hand. "Thanks for coming Mum," said George his face falling a little. "I'm so nervous about today, what if something goes wrong?" Molly smiled reassuringly. "She will do just fine today George, this is just another barrier she has got to cross before she can come home and be with you all the time." George nodded as he lost himself in thought, looking at his little girl whose chest was rising and falling with even and synchronized breaths. She was wearing nothing but a diaper, and plastic tubes on her face and arms, but George looked at her with nothing but love. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

Today, the muggle doctor and her healer would be in to do an important check-up on Sarafina. Not only was the muggle doctor going to make sure that her incisions from surgery were healing nicely, they were also going to try and take out her breathing tube. The doctor and healer wanted to observe her without the ventilator and determine whether or not her lungs were strong enough for her to be able to breathe on her own now. George hoped everything would go smoothly, she had been progressing slowly but surely and he didn't know if he could handle a setback with Sarafina this early on. He only wanted to be able to hold his little girl, which he still had not been able to do, yet. He continued to watch her, and was so lost in though that he didn't even realize his mother was tapping his arm until she said his name, "George, sweetheart, the healer and doctor are here." He looked up to see them walking over to where Sarafina was sleeping so peacefully.

George felt nervous but he was ready to get on with it, he didn't like the suspense of waiting. The healer and doctor began their evaluation right away with very few formalities; they obviously knew that George just wanted to know how his daughter was doing. "Well, after checking her incisions, I have determined that she is able to go without the dressing now, they have healed nicely and are now just mere scars," George smiled as the Muggle doctor removed the bandage from his daughters lower back revealing a nicely healed scar where there had once been a gaping hole. Molly held tightly onto George's hand and gave it a slight squeeze as the healer now looked up at George. "We are going to extubate her now," the healer spoke trying to explain everything so that George and Molly could understand. "She is still sedated but after we get the tube out we will give her a potion and she will wake up within five minutes after the potion is administered. We will observe her breathing for the first half hour personally, and if we determine that she is doing well, we will have the nurses continue to observe her for the rest of the day." George nodded and he kissed his little girl's hand before he moved out of the way of the healer so that he could do his job.

The doctor gently peeled off the tape holding the tube in place off of her delicate skin, and once they had the tape all off of her face, the healer began to gently but quickly pull the tube from the baby's mouth until it was completely out of her body. George watched with baited breath as tears ran down his face. To his delight, he watched as little Sarafina's chest was rising and falling as slowly and rhythmically as it had been when she was breathing with the ventilator. "This is very good," said the Healer as he spoke to George and Molly. The healer then injected a syringe filled with a bright pink potion into her little arm, and within five minutes little Sarafina Weasley began to open her eyes slowly. The doctors observed her closely and she continued to breathe without a problem. As she continued to become more aware as she awoke from her potion-induced slumber she began to cry. "Why is she crying?" asked George sounding slightly panicked. "Is she okay?" The healer looked up and smiled softly at George, "She is perfectly fine, actually the fact that she is crying is a good sign for her lungs. She is just not used to being awake yet and it can be a little scary at first." George took a sigh of relief as Molly squeezed his hand reassuringly again. "Now, we have determined that her breathing is better than we had expected. She might be a little fussy for a while as the potion continues to wear off but there is something that you can do to make her feel more comfortable and help her not feel so scared," said the healer smiling knowingly at George, and George perked up upon hearing that. "What is it that I can do?" he asked impatiently, desperate to do anything to help his little girl. "This may sound a little weird but I need you to take off your shirt and sit in the reclining chair over there," said the healer as she pointed to the other side of Sarafina's bed where the muggle doctor was standing and smiling. It did sound like a weird request to George but he did as he was told, he wanted to do whatever the healer told him to do if it would help his daughter.

As he sat in the chair, now bare-chested, the healer picked up little Sarafina, who was still crying and carried her over to George. The healer then laid her gingerly onto George's bare chest, and almost immediately she began to stop crying as she lay listening curiously to George's heat beat. The tears now fell freely from both George and Molly's eyes and George realized he was holding his little girl for the first time in her entire life. For George, he didn't even have to think about what to do, it was just instinct. He began patting her on the diaper softly and started talking to her. "Shhhh, Sarafina, it's ok," George cooed. "It's just your daddy who has got you now." She moved her head slightly, her little eyes opening and closing sweetly. "I love you, Sara-girl. I'll always love you." The type of love George was feeling now was magic far greater than any magic he had ever experienced in his entire life and he knew he would never be the same again.

The healer and the doctor eventually left the NICU allowing George, Molly, and Sarafina to have some privacy. George was still holding her on his chest; he never wanted to let her go. "George, George, look over here!" Molly had pulled a camera out of her handbag and was holding it up to her eye. George smiled and he leaned down his head to kiss Sarafina's little head, and as Molly snapped the photo, the most beautiful thing happened; Sarafina smiled for the first time in her entire life.

**AN: I hope that this chapter is up to expectation. It was an extra piece of the story I decided to write just this morning. I am eager to post it to the story though, so I hope it doesn't appear sloppy, I've worked on it since about 8 am. Haha Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Please, if you read and enjoy this story, please review! I would really love to hear your thoughts on what you like and what could be changed. **

Three months after her birth, has healed nicely from her spinal and brain surgery and her lungs have developed enough to allow her to breathe on her own. She is finally pretty healthy, despite the fact that she still sports a tube in her nose because eating from a bottle is still difficult for her. She was now old enough to look up at her father through her big blue eyes with wonder as he held her close to him. On this particular day the chilly fall air nipped at their noses. Due to hospital requirements her visitors had been kept to a minimum so the only people who had actually seen her in person were George, Molly, Arthur, and Ron; since leaving the hospital she has met most of her family. Sarafina had experienced a long week after meeting all of her family, but George saved the most important one for last and the moment was finally here for her to meet him.

She sleeps peacefully in her dad's arms as he carries her along the stone path. It is a strange place to bring a baby but her dad walks with confidence and a little ways down the path he stops and kneels on the grass. Sarafina moves her head a little, stirring in her father's arms but not waking up. George holds her closer as he reads this particular headstone for the millionth time in two years:

_**Fred Weasley**_

_**April 1, 1978**_

_**May 2, 1998**_

_**One of two, and Half of the Other**_

George reaches out and touches the headstone that marks the final resting place of his twin brother. "Hi Freddy." says George; his voice was no more than a whisper. "I have brought someone to meet you. This is Sarafina… my daughter," George said as he lifted her up to show her off, as if the headstone were an extension of Fred's eyes. "She is also the reason I haven't been to visit you for a while. She was born three months ago but she was very ill from the moment she was born. I spent all of my time at the hospital with her. It was very hard…" George choked up again this time the tears falling freely as he continued. "It _is_ very hard to handle this difficult situation without you. It makes me miss you on a deeper level but I have also found happiness again through her." George managed to produce a small smile, as he looked down upon the sleeping infant in his arms and back up at the headstone again. "Due to her condition she most likely cannot and will not ever be able to walk… But that is ok because she is super awesome and you would love her." He paused for a moment. "You would love her and even though she will never have gotten to meet you, she will love you."

George pulls a small picture frame out of his bag and looks down on it; inside it was a photo of George holding Sarafina for the first time. It was a copy of the one George's mum had taken the day Sarafina had gotten her breathing tube taken out; it was the first time she had ever smiled in her entire life. Fred loved to smile; he even died smiling, so George knew that he would love this picture. He placed it on the grass leaning against the headstone and pulled out his wand. He pointed his wand at the frame as he muttered _"Epoximise Maxima."_ George smiled slightly after he permanently stuck the photograph to the grave, "There you go, now you can see her smiling all the time." George looked at the grave again, before he side hugged it with his free arm, "I sure do miss you, mate. I wish you could be here to meet her… I wish you could be here just so I could talk to you…" George took in a deep breath as he found against fresh tears and finished, "We'll be back soon, ok? Mum, is expecting us back for dinner. See ya later brother." With that, George stood up, walked back to the stone path, and with a last look back at Fred's grave, George held Sarafina tightly and disapparated.


End file.
